Battle of Britain - demo now out!

['Johnnie' Johnson]

PC Pilot magazine has a demo of the Battle of Britain game from Rowan.

Not tried it yet, a chap at work has just lent me his copy. Those who read my post a couple of weeks back about this game and checked out the Rowan web site will know this is exciting stuff!

Can't wait to get home :)

[Dragonweedy]

Ooooooh, me going to queue up outside WH SMITHs right now... :D

[Rocky]

PC Pilot? I've never heard about this mag before, is it any good? I presume from the title it's a mag dedicated to flight-sims and such like. What's the content like, good value?

Plus, does our beloved AA ever get mentioned?

[Garibaldi]

Wot he ^^^^ said :)

[tinvek]

only ever seen it once !

['Johnnie' Johnson]

I think it's a good mag. Full of stuff on all sorts of flight sims, usually got additional planes for MS Flight Sim etc.

I was looking at the review of the Battle of Britain game. There's a screen shot of a Spitfire with YQ code on the side. Yes, YQ = 616!

Admittedly YQ wasn't used until June 1941, so a small slip up there from Rowan, but nice going none the less.

I couldn't wait any longer so I installed the demo on my crappy work machine. Let's see, first mission, fly as RAF. Choice of squadron, 610 (nice) or... 616. Oh. I've come over all funny. Where's my medication.

Now let's see, click on 616 and what do we get... Squadron led by Marcus Robinson.

Thank you Rowan. Correct pilots in correct squadrons. I want this game. Now.

Email to our own Marcus Robinson will be winging its way tonight.

[tinvek]

er jj sorry to break up the party but, and i know rowan wouldnt do this , but i could make up a game with the correct pilots names in scorrect squads etc.

but it wouldnt work

i understand why your excited m8, inaccuracies piss me off too but i think most peeps here will be more interested in how it measures up in the flying stakes so come on spill the beans.

(actually i managed flying steaks and spiling the beans last night when i dropped my dinnerplate)

[jackheever]

http://www.rowansoftware.com/bob.html looks good but cant find a downloadable demo

['Johnnie' Johnson]

Well, after MS Combat Flight Sim - good flight model, lousy campaign mode - I think that stuff other than the flight model plays an important part in the longevity of a game. This is why I hardly ever bother with CFS, but still play European Air War.

Anyway, on with the review.

The clouds look very good, as do the planes and the ground. The sky isn't particularly impressive though, especially when compared to previous offerings such as MiG Alley.

The mission itself; I've only played as RAF so far. There are a HUGE number of German planes around, about 100+ bombers plus a heap of 109s.

You can sneak up on the 109s from below quite successfully, which I like. Bullet strikes are visible, and when a bomber blows up in front of you - impressive!

Nice touches are visible damage on your own plane, and audible cues if your engine is damaged. The force feedback effects can be tinkered with to a large degree which provides more good feedback. Viewing options are a bit complex, and I'm still getting to grips with them.

Flak is very impressive, and although there are barrage balloons (a nice touch) they aren't rendered very well.

Radio chatter has yet to be implemented, but it looks as though it will be good. Those familiar with EAW may know that Meatpack (a German programmer) did some excellent add-ons for the sound in that game. The good news is that Rowan employed him for Battle of Britain.

Final conclusion? Obviously a game still in development but with a lot of promise. Oh yes, and part of the background art includes a picture of Rob Morton, as seen on the 616 website. :)